Staff Profile

Career Summary

Biography

Dr Robert Parkes is Senior Lecturer in Curriculum Studies, and Convenor of the HERMES History Education Research Group, at The University of Newcastle; Founding Editor of Historical Encounters: A Journal of Historical Consciousness, Historical Cultures, and History Education; a member of the Editorial Board of Agora / Sungråpho; a Core Author for Public History Weekly; Founding Co-Convenor of the History and Education Special Interest Group within the Australian Association for Research in Education (AARE); and a member of the Academic Advisory Board of the International Society for History Didactics (ISHD). In 2013 he was Visiting Research Fellow with the Educational History and History Didactics group in the Department of Historical, Philosophical, and Religious Studies at Umeå University, Sweden. His research interests include: historical theory and history education; historical consciousness, public history and contemporary historical cultures; history teacher education; and curriculum history, theory and politics.

Robert completed his Bachelor of Education (Hons) degree at the University of Sydney, where he was a recipient of the Newcombe Hodge Essay Prize (1997), and a Dean's List Scholar, graduating the equivalent of "dux litterarum" with Class I Honours and the University Medal (2000). Robert was appointed to Charles Sturt University (Bathurst, NSW) in 2003, where he was a foundation member of the Subjectivities in Teacher Education (SITE) Community of Scholars led by Professor Bill Green; a key organiser and presenter at the New Psychologies in Education symposium (2004); and gained a reputation for pedagogical innovation. He joined The University of Newcastle in January 2007. During 2008-2011 Robert served two consecutive terms as Deputy Head of School, Teaching & Learning, providing leadership in the most wide-ranging and substantial undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum renewal projects within the School of Education for over a decade. In 2012 he accepted a 3-Year Ministerial appointment to the Hunter Institute of TAFE Advisory Council. He currently teaches courses in History, Social and Screen Media Education; and supervises doctoral and research masters students in the area of History, Humanities, and Social Science Education.

Qualifications

PhD, University of Newcastle, 25/07/2006

Bachelor of Education (Honours), University of Sydney, 21/03/2000

Graduate Certificate Practice of Tertiary Teaching, University of Newcastle, 10/12/2007

Research

Research keywords

Curriculum History, Theory, & Philosophy

History Education, Historical Literacy & History Didactics

Pedagogy as Social Practice

Philosophy of History, Historiography, & Hermeneutics

Politics of Teacher Education

Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, and Post-Colonial Studies

Research expertise

Robert's scholarly interests and contributions are located within the field of Curriculum & Pedagogy studies (with a particular focus on History, Humanities, and Social Science Education). His research interests include: historical theory and history education; historical consciousness, public history, and contemporary historical cultures; teacher education; and curriculum history, theory and politics. He has particular expertise in historical and philosophical (poststructural, postcolonial and hermeneutic) research methodologies; and has taught Post-Reconceptualist Curriculum Inquiry at the AARE Theory workshops. He is foundation convenor of the HERMES History Education Research Group, and is currently supervising research students whose projects are focused at the interface of History education, curriculum history, historical consciousness, and public history. Robert's research and scholarship has contributed to understandings of History curriculum as postmodern, post-colonial, and political text; the curriculum politics of Teacher Education; and poststructural curriculum theory. His current scholarly projects focus in various ways on the meta-historical literacies required by history educators to navigate rival narratives, and include a joint book project with Professor Monika Vinterek (Darlana University, Sweden), Dr Anna Clark (University of Technology Sydney, Australia), and Henrik Åström Elmersjö (Umeå University, Sweden), exploring possible pedagogical responses from around the globe to History and Culture Wars. With members of the HERMES Research Network, he is also engaged in a four nation study involving colleagues in Australia, Canada, Sweden and New Zealand, into the historical consciousness of pre-service history teachers.

Awards

Distinction.

2000

University MedalUniversity of Sydney (Australia)Awarded to the bachelor's honours degree student who is effectively "dux litterarum" and whose achievements include Honours Class I, an outstanding academic record, and grade of Outstanding for final professional experience placement.

2000

Honours Class IUniversity of Sydney (Australia)Awarded for thesis - "The constitution of the subject in the zone of proximal development: A critical analysis of agency in Vygotskian pedagogical discourse"

Research Award.

Doctoral Completion ScholarshipUniversity of Newcastle (Australia)Competitive scholarship awarded in final semester of candidature.

2000

Australian Postgraduate AwardUniversity of Newcastle (Australia)Postgraduate scholarship with stipend awarded on competitive basis, held during fulltime component of candidature.

1997

Newcombe Hodge Essay PrizeUniversity of Sydney (Australia)Competitive prize awarded for the most outstanding term paper in second or third year education Studies. Awarded for the term paper: The zone of proximal development and the efficacy of its educational applications.

Invitations

School vs MemoryInstitute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, Czech Republic (Invited Presenter)

Collaboration

HERMES is a History Education research group based at the University of Newcastle, Australia. Find out more information, including projects, publications, news and events, and possible affiliation, from the: HERMES website.

The History Network for Teachers and Researchers is a professional community for history educators in universities, schools, museums, and heritage organisations, based in the Hunter region of NSW, Australia. You can participate in HNTR by clicking here to join our facebook group.

For those colleagues, affiliates, and students who like to keep up with breaking news, discuss ideas, or share new finds and resources, Robert invites you to join him on Twitter the online social networking and microblogging service.

If you are an academic anywhere in the world with shared interests, Robert invites you to join him on Academia.edu an online social networking community for university teachers and professors.

Honours and Research Higher Degree Supervision

Robert has significant expertise in poststructural and postcolonial theory, and document-based historical, philosophical, and hermeneutic research methodologies. He welcomes potential Honours or Research Higher Degree students, who are interested in:

Curriculum change (explored through its History, Theory, or Politics);

History, Humanities, or Social Science Curriculum or Pedagogy;

The didaktik (pedagogical content) knowledge of History, Humanities, or Social Science teachers;

The didaktik (pedagogical content) knowledge of History, Humanities, or Social Science teachers;

Historical Consciousness, Historical Cultures, or Public History.

Influences of Postmodernism, Poststructuralism, or Post-colonialism on the Educational Imagination.

Administrative

Administrative expertise

Robert was appointed to the role of Deputy Head of School, Teaching and Learning, in February 2008, and continued in the role for two terms of office, providing academic leadership during a period of significant policy change within the field of teacher education specifically, and the higher education sector more generally. During his terms of office, Robert chaired the School of Education Teaching & Learning Committee, and had portfolio responsibilities within the School of Education - one of the largest providers of initial teacher education in Australia - for a wide range of academic matters including program accreditation and transition, course quality and availability, complaint resolution, and curriculum renewal. Robert has also contributed to Academic senate working parties on course outlines, course levels, and policy streamlining; piloted and assisted in the refinement of the University's course related ethics approval (CREA) process; served on a range of committees including School of Education interview panels, the Faculty of Education and Arts Progress and Appeals Committee, Faculty A-C Promotion Committee, and University Equity and Teaching & Learning Grant Committees; and acted in the role of Assistant Dean Teaching & Learning for the Faculty of Education and Arts, Program Convenor of the Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary)/Bachelor of Arts program (Callaghan Campus), and Chair of the Streamlining Academic Policies working party for Academic Senate (late 2011). He has been both a seconded and elected member of the executive committee of the Australian Teacher Education Association (ATEA) and maintained their official website from 2008-2011. He has recently accepted nomination to the NSW Board of Studies Curriculum Committee for Senior History, and has accepted a 3-year appointment by the Minister of Education (NSW) as the Tertiary Sector representative on the Hunter Institute of TAFE Advisory Council.

Teaching

Teaching keywords

Curriculum Studies

History Education

Media Literacy

Screen Technologies

Society & Culture

Studies of Religion

Teaching expertise

Robert's diverse teaching career has included work in various capacities as a full-time martial arts instructor (5th Dan Black Belt in Togakure Ryu Ninjutsu, and instructor licenses in Wing Chun and Non-Classical Kung-Fu and Arnis/Kali); communication consultant; lecturer in and practitioner of Shiatsu and Oriental Medicine; School Network Administrator; History, Technology and Learning Support Teacher in suburban high schools in Sydney; and sessional tutor and lecturer in TESOL at the University of Sydney. His first full time appointment as a university lecturer was to Charles Sturt University (Bathurst) where he coordinated courses in a diverse range of areas, and gained a reputation for pedagogical innovation [recognised through invited presentations to the: Faculty of Education Biennial Forum; Centre for Learning and Teaching; Foundation of University Learning and Teaching program; and Charles Sturt University Professors' Forum]. He has significant experience and expertise in university program and course design, and teaches courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels in the area of curriculum leadership, history and social education, and screen media literacies.

Teaching philosophy

Robert uses various approaches in his teaching, including project based learning, cognitive apprenticeship, authentic assessment, and a range of cooperative learning pedagogies. As a teacher, he seeks to foster a learning environment characterised by high intellectual challenge, high engagement, and appropriate support; moving as required between 'the sage on the stage' and 'the guide on the side'. Robert approaches education as a hermeneutic activity where the goal is the recognition and/or transformation of our practical capacities and intellectual horizons. He is committed to nested curriculum designs, where the approach that is taught is also what is practiced, interrogated, and assessed. He seeks to develop thoughtful educators with versatile repertoires and meta-theoretical understanding, who can provide defensible and informed justification for their actions, while navigating the complexities of the pedagogical encounter.

Parkes RJ, Sharp H, 'Nietzschean perspectives on representations of national history in Australian school textbooks: What should we do with Gallipoli?', ENSAYOS, Revisita de la Facultad de Educación de Albacete, 29 159-181 (2014) [C1]

Gulson KN, Parkes RJ, 'Bringing theory to doctoral research', The Routledge Doctoral Student's Companion: Getting to Grips with Research in Education and the Social Sciences, Routledge, London 76-84 (2010) [B1]

Parkes RJ, Sharp H, 'Nietzschean perspectives on representations of national history in Australian school textbooks: What should we do with Gallipoli?', ENSAYOS, Revisita de la Facultad de Educación de Albacete, 29 159-181 (2014) [C1]

Parkes RJ, 'Interrupting history teacher education: Reconceptualising the history method course after 'the end of History'', Teacher Educators at Work: What Works and Where is the Evidence? Proceedings of the 2008 Australian Teacher Education Association National Conference, Sunshine Coast, QLD (2008) [E3]

Parkes RJ, 'School history as post-colonial text: the ongoing struggle for histories in the New South Wales curriculum', Programme and abstracts: Curriculum as Conversation, Tampere, Finland (2006) [E3]